Difference betweem RT/Subway and certain Steetcar lines

[swimmer_spe]

With the Spadina and St Clair street car lines being grade separated, what makes them not considered part of the RT? The Crosstown will be part of the RT.

[1overcosc]

From my understanding, their stop spacing is too close. They stop every 200-300m like a local bus, and not every 500m+ like a rapid transit system.

[Doady]

Spadina and St. Clair are not grade-separated. They are at-grade. And the stops are not stations with proper names and fare-paid zones.

I don't consider Eglinton Crosstown to be subway/RT because it will not be grade-separated and there will be no fare-paid zones. It will mostly be at-grade, on-street and fare system will be the exact same as the streetcars.

[1overcosc]

Originally Posted by Doady

Spadina and St. Clair are not grade-separated. They are at-grade. And they stops are no stations with proper names and fare-paid zones.

I don't consider Eglinton Crosstown to be subway/RT because it will not be grade-separated and there will be no fare-paid zones. It will mostly be at-grade, on-street and fare system will be the exact same as the streetcars.

EC will blur the distinction as it will have a large underground section, stop spacing is far, it will have its own ROW, and also traffic light control.

[Doady]

Yes, Eglinton Crosstown will be similar to modern LRTs which typically have stop spacing similar to subway.

But that's why it is a modern light rail line. And the streetcars are undergoing the process of modernization too. St. Clair, Spadina and Queens Quay have many things in common with Eglinton: Bombardier Flexity vehicles, honour fare system, operating mostly at-grade in on-street ROW with signal priority. These streetcar lines also have some underground stations too...

That's why I don't think it is good to separate Eglinton Crosstown and pretend the streetcars don't exist. In Toronto, Eglinton-Crosstown is not the first modern light rail line. It will look and operate very similarly to the streetcars, so why not just brand it as part of streetcar system? Like express streetcar or something? It is so much easier both for them and for the riders.

TTC is lucky the other Transit City lines got cancelled because the distinction would have be even more blurred. But Toronto made it hard for itself to begin with by trying to separate the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle from light rail transit or whatever it is they are trying to do there.

For example, no one says that BRTs are not buses. I say just call it what it is.

[Innsertnamehere]

It doesn't help that every time the TTC builds a new streetcar line they call it an LRT either, St. Clair, Spadina, Waterfront East, etc.